Water breaking and increased pain?

[california_mom]

I'm just wondering if there is any info out there on a correlation between a preg woman's water breaking early and increased labor pain. In other words, do women whose water stays in tact until pushing have a relatively less painful labor?

How about an informal poll? For those who have already been though the birth process at least once, what do you think? (Or is this just a really stupid question? : )

[Kidzaplenty]

I do think that the pain increases once the water has broken. I think it is the extra pressure on the cervix caused by the head. But the up side is that labor tends to go faster at that point, again because of the extra pressure on the cervix.

I did have one daughter almost born in the cull. And the actual birth was about the same, I guess. It is hard to remember the "pain scale" after the birth, for me. I tend to forget about quickly.

[mommathea]

For all 3 of my kids, I hardly felt labor pains before my water breaking. Even when at the hospital and teh contractions were peeking off the chart I just felt squeezing. After my water broke it was very painful. The squeezing went to full bown cramps and labor pains.

[Narn]

I was managing my labor pains so well. Then I let the doctor break my water (because I had only dilated one cm in 4 hours). Now I know I should have told the doctor to leave me alone. Once my water was broken the pain increased tenfold! I really think that breaking my water was the dumbest idea and started that chain reaction of the doctor and nurses talking me into one intervention after another.

[dahlsk]

Well, I would say that the worst labor got for me was about 26 hours in when I agreed to AROM. Granted, that was also the point where I went from 6-9.5 in about an hour (yikes!), so I don't know if there was a correlation or causation between the two.

[sarahtdubb]

I don;t have anything to compare it to, because I've only given birth once, but i can say that in my case my water breaking did not speed up my labor... my water broken 48 hours before my baby was finally born!

[Mrsboyko]

I think it is pore painful if water is broken. I allowed my OB to break my water at about 4 cm (dumb, I know) and the pin went from managable to hell almost instantly. It was like the water was a cushion and then when it was gone, all I felt was hard bones and grinding. Awful.

[annakiss]

I think that part of it is whether your water breaks artifically or naturally. If your water breaks naturally to start your labor, then you're not likely to notice a difference, I wouldn't imagine. If your water is broken artificially, however, you're not prepped for that dramatic and sudden increase in pain because your body didn't naturally lead up to it.

Interestingly, during the pushing stage with DS2, my water had not yet broken. My mw said it would likely break with another push or two. I felt soooo much pressure and was sort of scared to break the water because I thought it would increase the pain. I also thought that having a baby in caul would be kinda cool. The water did indeed break with another push and the pressure actually diminished greatly without immediately increasing the pain. Yes, the ring of fire felt differently or "worse" than the pressure, but y'know, it was necessary at some point for that head to come out.

[Ekatherina]

when the doctor broke my waters the pain disappeared completely. i think my case is rather strange but i had to push my baby out for 5 hours without contractions!!! .

[attachedmamaof3]

My water only broke "pre-labor" with my last one and, IMO, the difference was significant. I could "feel" everything and it was very uncomfortable for me. I didn't like it.

[Qestia]

I had no pain whatsoever till the OB manually broke my water, then it was immediately inimaginable and unceasing, and I begged for (and got) an epidural.

[patchynurse]

My water broke and labor started an hour later but babe was posterior. It was terrible.

[Full Heart]

I think the 'rule' is that it is more painful, however I must be the exception. My labors do not hurt more when the water is broken. I have had my water break naturally 4 times, and 3 of those were really easy to completly managable labors. One was really bad but it had nothing to do with my water breaking. The other 3 times I had my water broken twice - pain did not increase at all. The remaining one time, my water never broke - pain was no different again.

But almost everyone I talk to says their labors hurt more after their waters are broken.

[NatureMama3]

in my personal experience, broken water=way more pain.

[california_mom]

I asked this question selfishly .

I was prepared for au natural birth and frowned on those that got those drugs. What wimps! Well, after taking a birthing class, meeting with a personal birth coach, and doing hypnobabies, I was prepared, right?! My water broke at the same time as my contractions started. It was manageable at first. I mean, heck, I took prenatal yoga, so I knew some good poses to do. When my contractions were 3 minutes apart, we went into the hospital... only to find out I was not dilated at all. : Ok. So, they sent me back home (yes, I told them that my water broke, but when they swabbed me to confirm, they didn't get the ferning on the slide, so they didn't believe this first time mommy!). 3 hours at home and the pain became unbearable. Contractions were 1.5 minutes apart. Cold sweats, I could barely stand, I was pooped after 19 hours of this crap! So I went back to the hospital, knowing I must be at least 8 cm dilated by then. Nope. 3cm after 3 hours. That broke me. I asked for the epidural. :

The weird thing was, my labor pain was never in my stomach or back, it was completely down in my groin area, which I was not expecting and was VERY uncomfortable. Oh well. In the end, there was a happy healthy baby and mama and that's all I could ask for

Thanks for everyone who responded and will respond. I look forward to reading more stories!

[eloise24]

My labor "started" with my water breaking. 10 minutes later I had my "first" contraction and it hurt. That being said, they stayed 3-5 minutes apart for my entire 13 hour labor. Definately hurt but not unmanageable. I don't know if it would have been easier without my water breaking or not but it wasn't terrible! Being in the water definately helped.

[applejuice]

The midwife broke my water late in labor at home each time. The pain was doable until she broke my water.

My first two were posterior, so it was awful.

In bygone days, if you talk to your grandmothers (older female family members) and they talk about a "dry birth", and the terrible pain connected with it, I have found that means that their water broke early and there was a lot of pain. JMHO

Doctors and midwives should know that this amplifies the pain of labor greatly, yet since it speeds the labor, they really do not care.

[Kidzaplenty]

I have had a dry birth (my water slowly leaked out over the previous week without me realizing it). And it was very intense, but I gotta say, it was my fastest labor yet, an hour and a quarter.

[alison_in_oh]

Yes, I had a very easy to handle labor pattern, and didn't even begin to think of needing to ask for pain meds! My water broke in the tub after about 7 hours of labor and my exact words were, "Oooh, this is a LOT more intense." But within minutes I started bearing down, so of course that was intense on its own and I had no more time to think about it!

When asked if I had a natural birth I say yes with some pride -- but I always add the disclaimer that my body was very kind to me with that labor pattern! If my water breaks early next time, I definitely think it's going to be a whole different ballgame.

If the epidural was what you needed at the time, I'm glad you were able to get it. I'm a bit disappointed for you, though, that the quantitative measure of your dilation is what made labor seem that much more unbearable. I hear it all the time, including from my friend who had her baby last month. When hours of hard labor results in not being tangibly closer to the baby, it must be so overwhelming and frustrating!

[patchynurse]

don't feel bad about the epi. I too had high hopes for myself and was very educated about risks. My water broke and back labor started an hour later. I was doing good until the contractions were 3 mins apart and progress was slllloooooowwwwwww. I decided to get an epidural. It wasn't an easy decision and I don't regret it. At the time it was the right choice. It meant not having my "dream" birth but I have had to just let things go and own it as my own birth experience. It's important to remember you made the best choice for yourself in that situation and not feel like you "failed" somehow.